Lockhart's smile became slightly stiff, but he quickly recovered his composure.
"You're absolutely right! But, Dudley, before practice, we also need to learn theoretical knowledge from books," Lockhart said with forced enthusiasm.
"Take me, for example. When I was studying at Hogwarts, my grades were quite excellent, which is why I was able to turn danger into safety during all these perilous adventures."
"You don't think I relied solely on my charming smile to drive away the Bandon Banshee, do you?"
After saying this, Lockhart displayed another practised charming smile and even winked at several girls in the class.
These girls immediately showed embarrassed smiles, some even blushing prettily at his attention.
Dudley glanced at Hermione beside him, who was shyly lowering her head, and shook his head with helpless resignation.
"But, Professor Lockhart, what's recorded in these books appears more like fiction than actual combat experience," Dudley said, picking up one of the thick books from his desk.
Its cover showed Lockhart himself constantly winking and smiling at the reader.
"For instance, this book 'Magical Me' records your supposed defeat of the Wagga Wagga Werewolf. You described it like this: 'I pounced, knocked him flying, and grabbed hold of him, one hand on his throat, holding him down. With my free hand I reached for my wand, cast a very difficult spell, groaned and stirred, and all the hair on his face vanished, his fangs shrank, and he turned back into a man.'"
After Dudley finished reading this passage aloud, he looked up at Lockhart with obvious scepticism.
Lockhart's expression appeared somewhat unnatural. Although he still maintained his charming smile, obvious panic could be seen flickering in his eyes.
"Is there a problem? These are all things I personally experienced. I dare say no one could have performed better than me in such dangerous circumstances!" Lockhart tried to explain with growing defensiveness.
Dudley shook his head thoughtfully. "As fiction, there's indeed no problem with this account, but if it were genuine experience, I feel there are quite a few tactical issues."
"For example, from what I understand, werewolves possess incredible strength with extremely powerful close combat abilities, and their teeth carry deadly venom. Once bitten by them, one would also become a werewolf. Therefore, when wizards fight them, the optimal approach is to maintain a safe distance and use spells to attack them remotely, rather than engaging in reckless close combat."
"After all, a wizard's body generally can't compete with a werewolf's physical prowess, and close combat unnecessarily increases the risk of being bitten and torn apart."
"Moreover, from what I've studied, the spell to restore a werewolf to human form is extremely complex, requiring concentrated attention to cast properly, and no mistakes can be made midway. So I don't think casting this spell in such chaotic circumstances would be a wise choice."
"If it were me, I would perhaps first use spells to control the werewolf from a safe distance, then find a secure way to cast the transformation spell."
Dudley explained his reasoning simply and clearly.
Actually, he hadn't completely avoided reading Lockhart's books. He had skimmed through some of them.
It's just that he felt the scenes described in these books had undergone extensive artistic embellishment. They were exciting to read as entertainment, but when you actually applied such techniques to real combat, you'd discover many were just flashy, unnecessary movements.
That's why he maintained Lockhart's books were more like adventure novels than proper textbooks. They were fine for casual reading and entertainment, to learn about the magical world, but as Defence Against the Dark Arts textbooks, they were somewhat misleading. You couldn't learn anything practically useful from them. You could only observe how Lockhart supposedly showed off in various dramatic ways.
"I see, no wonder I always felt the scenes described in the books seemed somewhat unrealistic," one student murmured.
"Yes, thinking about it this way, it seems like there were much better tactical solutions in certain scenarios," another agreed.
"That's right, even if I were somehow stronger than that werewolf, I absolutely wouldn't pounce and engage in close combat with it. That's completely foolish," a third student added.
Everyone began discussing among themselves with growing scepticism.
Originally, everyone was already dissatisfied with Lockhart making them purchase such expensive books. Now, with Dudley's logical explanation, they felt they had spent substantial money on a collection of fantasy novels, which seemed very poor value.
Especially since Lockhart's books weren't available second-hand, this represented quite a financial burden for students with modest means.
"Uh... ahem," Lockhart's expression looked increasingly uncomfortable. After standing frozen on the platform for several awkward seconds, he forced another smile and said, "Dudley, you're still too young and don't understand what genuine combat entails. I dare say that only after you've experienced real life-or-death situations will you understand the true value of my books."
"Facing an irrational, bloodthirsty werewolf, no one could have performed better than me."
"Also, you probably don't realise that I maintain excellent physical condition. I've always been training my body rigorously, so even when facing werewolves, I can make them unable to resist my strength."
Lockhart said this while throwing a few theatrical punches into the air, trying to demonstrate his physical condition could handle close combat with supernatural creatures.
"Professor Lockhart, Dudley truly understands combat. Just last semester, he actually rode a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon and defeated a dark wizard who invaded Hogwarts," Harry stood up urgently and declared.
"That's absolutely right, if Dudley doesn't understand combat, then no one here understands combat," Ron also stood up in support.
"Dudley is indeed incredibly impressive. We all call him the Dragon Knight."
"He's not only excellent at studying but also has extensive real combat experience. Otherwise, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have appointed him as Hogwarts' sheriff."
Everyone chattered enthusiastically in Dudley's defence.
Lockhart was completely frozen in place. He hadn't expected a second-year student to have actually ridden a dragon and defeated a dark wizard in real combat.
If he had accomplished this, he could have written another bestselling book: "Dragon Knight: The Gilderoy Lockhart Story".
After briefly considering the possibility of casting a Memory Charm on Dudley, Lockhart quickly dismissed the dangerous idea. After all, too many people knew about this incident, and there was also Professor Dumbledore to consider. He didn't dare cause serious trouble at Hogwarts.
"Ahaha... So Dudley is that impressive. I had absolutely no idea," Lockhart said with an increasingly forced smile.
"But Dudley, since you've never actually encountered a werewolf personally, your understanding of werewolves is still somewhat theoretical and one-sided."
"How about this? To prove my own capabilities, you can play the werewolf, and I'll demonstrate exactly how I defeated that creature."
Lockhart displayed his most charming smile with renewed confidence.
He didn't believe he couldn't handle a mere second-year student in a simple demonstration.
Dudley looked at Lockhart with a genuinely strange expression, pointed at himself, and asked with obvious amusement, "Are you absolutely sure you want me to play that werewolf?"
"Absolutely certain!" Lockhart nodded immediately. He was worried Dudley wouldn't dare accept the challenge.